Department for Business and Trade

Horizon IT System: Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Lord Framlingham: To ask His Majesty's Government what part, if any, the Ombudsman has played in the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) reports to Parliament directly and is held to account through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Therefore, the Department for Business and Trade is unable to respond on their behalf. PHSO has confirmed that they do not have any live investigations relating to the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Imports: Internet

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paperCritical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, published on 17 January, what steps they are taking to establish the new online portal forbusinesses to report disruption affecting their imports; and what assessment they have made of the impact this will have oncommunication and coordination in relation to supply chain issues.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: The Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy includes several actions to make it easier for businesses to share information on difficulties or disruptions they face importing critical goods. These include creating a new import barrier reporting mechanism and a new business/government Critical Imports Council. The Government is now working to establish both of these and we are confident they will both increase our understanding of the challenges businesses face and enhance business and government collaboration to tackle the issues and strengthen our critical supply chains.

Home Office

Undocumented Migrants

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrantsarrived improperly in the UK from otherwise safe countries in each of the past five years; and why they keep no electronically accessible records of which countries those migrants previously resided in or were registered in.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release, available on gov.uk. Data on irregular arrivals by method of entry is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2023.Information on the country asylum seekers were previously residing in before coming to the UK can be collected in case notes at different stages of the asylum process, so is not collected in a reportable manner.Irregular Migration to the UK dataset (xlsx, 1241.7KB)

Immigration: EU Countries

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other European countries about tackling levels of immigration.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: His Majesty’s Government continues to enhance our cooperation on migration with partners across Europe, and beyond.UK Ministers and officials continue to raise these issues in bilateral and multilateral discussions with both our European partners and with countries outside of Europe. This Government has emphasised that tackling organised immigration crime is a Europe-wide issue; our cooperation with France saw small boats crossings reduce by 36% in 2023 when compared to 2022, and the signing of a landmark joint communiqué between the Prime Minister and his Albanian counterpart saw 5,000 Albanians returned to Albania in 2023.

Bibby Stockholm: General Practitioners

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many days is a GP on site on the Bibby Stockholm each week; and whether they have plans to review this level of provision.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The medical facility on the barge is staffed 5 days a week to provide an onsite primary healthcare service with which the asylum seekers will register; this means individuals will not need to register with a local GP practice. The medical team has previous experience of working with asylum seekers.This team provides care to the asylum seekers either on the vessel itself between the hours of 9am-5pm, or remotely (including outside of these hours).Medical provision includes:a qualified senior health professional, such as an advanced nurse practitioner or a paramedic on site 5 days per week - 9am-5pma GP onsite (one day per week) 9am-5pmremote access to GP consultations when onsite care is unavailable or needs additional supportaccess to translation services is in place and this has been shared with local servicesany prescribed medicines will be transported to the vessel for the asylum seekers

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy to stop all dangerous channel crossings.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Illegal Migration Act, which this Government has enacted, is an important part of our response to illegal migration. The Act marks a vital step forward to stopping dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal journeys to the UK by removing the incentives for people to take these routes in the first place.The UK and French governments are committed to working together to stop small boat crossings of the English Channel, and in March 2023 the Prime Minister and President Macron agreed an ambitious new, multi-year, deal that will see us intensify our cooperation with the French government to prevent small boat crossings, with the aim of improving the interception rate and drastically reducing the number of crossings year-on-year. This new agreement is seeing more French personnel being deployed, supported by cutting-edge surveillance technologies and equipment; a new Zonal Coordination Centre has been established, responsible for the coordination and deployment of all relevant French law enforcement, supported by the UK and including permanently embedded British officers, and more work being done to disrupt organised crime gangs through improved intelligence sharing.In 2023, our cooperation with France prevented over 26,000 individual crossings by small boat to the UK. Since the Joint Intelligence Cell was set up in July 2020, we have dismantled 82 organised criminal gangs responsible for people smuggling of small boats migrants.We have developed a comprehensive illegal migration strategy to stop the boats and we are focused on delivering it; this has already seen a reduction in small boat crossings by a third in 2023.

Deportation

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for preventing the deportation of individuals, brought to the UK as children, when they turn 18.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Individuals who entered the UK under the age of 18 and committed an offence after turning 18 are considered for deportation in line with legislation. Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.The Government is determined to do everything possible to protect the public and remove foreign criminals from the UK.

Immigration Controls

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enhance UK border security and immigration enforcement.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office’s priority is to deliver a safe and secure border and we will never compromise on this. Border Force maintain 100% checks for all scheduled arriving passengers into the UK and this will be continued during any period.Border Force deploys to risk using tested, but continually assessed, intelligence and targeting techniques. Border Force does not publish information on operational activities. Doing so would publicise operational practices which would be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise border security.Immigration Enforcement is taking robust action to tackle illegal migration through:returning more than 24,000 people in 2023 who have no right to be in the UK, including more than 5,500 Albanians;increasing enforcement visits, with 10,509 in the first 9 months of 2023 compared to 6,865 in the same period in 2022 and 5,576 people arrested linked to these compared to 2,175 in the previous year; anddisrupting organised crime groups, resulting in 246 arrests of people smugglers in 2023.

Undocumented Migrants: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they take to ascertain whether illegalmigrants arriving and being registered in the Republic of Ireland are improperly entering the UK via Northern Ireland; and if so, what estimate they have made of the numbers reaching the UK by this route; and what arrangements, if any, are in place to effect their return.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: There is a high level of cooperation on border security between the UK and Irish Government to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure Common Travel Area (CTA) routes, including between Ireland and Northern Ireland.The UK carries out intelligence led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes including between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed if they are not lawfully present in the UK.

Knives

Earl Russell: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement statutory measures to ban the sale of zombie knives and machetes.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Between 18 April and 16 June 2023, the Government ran a consultation on new knife legislation proposals to tackle the use of machetes and other bladed articles in criminal activity. The Government published the response to the consultation on 30 August 2023.Alongside other proposals, the Government intends to ban the import, sale and possession of zombie style knives and machetes.The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 was laid in Parliament on 25 January 2024.Once the legislation has been approved by Parliament, a surrender scheme will be launched this summer to remove these knives from our streets.Once the surrender scheme has been completed, the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes will be outlawed from 24 September.

Jamie Bryson

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost to the taxpayer of the failed prosecution against Mr Jamie Bryson on charges of making a false statement to the Security Industry Authority in 2018, including Magistrates court proceedings and all Judicial Review proceedings.

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration theyare giving to launching an independent review into the investigation, expenditure and private prosecution of Mr Jamie Bryson in the light of the ruling by District Judge Amanda Brady to terminate the case.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: As the regulator of the private security industry, the Security Industry Authority (‘the Authority’) can bring private prosecutions for criminal offences contained within the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (‘the Act’). Section 22 of the Act makes it an offence for anyone knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement to the Authority, in connection with the exercise of its functions.Concerning the prosecution of Mr Jamie Bryson, the invoices received for the proceedings from 2019 to date (encompassing both the prosecution, and also responding to judicial review proceedings) total £106,992.00.The final costs incurred cannot be updated at this time, as not all legal invoices have yet been received by the SIA for payment. The costs will be incorporated within the SIA’s existing budget. This is funded from licence fees, and not from funding allocated by the Treasury.As legal proceedings continue, the Government cannot provide further comment, or the additional information sought within question HL1692.

Mistreatment of Detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre Inquiry: Government Responses

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whenthey expect to publish their responseto the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they can provide further details about the cross-Government working group created to manage the delivery of Brook House Inquiry report recommendations, including (1) what are the group's terms of reference, (2) who will be its members, and (3) whether minutes of its meeting be made publicly available.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking toaddress recommendations 10, 15 and 18 of the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Senior Civil Servant appointed to oversee the Government’s consideration of the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023, will continue overseeing the implementation of the recommendations after the Government has published its response; and whether the Government's response will include (1) an obligation to monitor the implementation of the report's recommendations, and (2) a requirement to present regular reports to Parliament on the progress of those recommendations.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government continues to reflect on the findings in the Brook House Inquiry report and progress is being made on recommendations. The Government response will be published in due course. This work is being overseen by a Senior Civil Servant (SCS), the Director of Detention Services. A specialist cross government working group has also been established to manage delivery of recommendations, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care. The Home Office will continue to monitor the implementation of any changes resulting from the report’s recommendations.

Asylum: Torture

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers who have claimed to be victims of torture have been detained at immigration centres.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We are unable to provide the information requested, as it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nagorno Karabakh: Cultural Heritage

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what representation they have made, since September 2023, to (1) UNESCO, and (2) the government of Azerbaijan regarding the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government is clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue and we take seriously reports of the destruction of churches or other sites of religious significance. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged over the course of the conflict. The British Embassy in Baku has raised this with the Azerbaijani government.

Nagorno Karabakh: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided, since September 2023, to humanitarian support for the estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians whohave fled their homeland of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has provided £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to those affected by September's conflict. We are liaising with the UN, ICRC and others to further assess humanitarian need in the region.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure voluntary aid to Ukraine reaches its right destination.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK's humanitarian support to Ukraine is delivered through a coordinated system to provide the most value for both the Ukrainian people and the British taxpayer. Outside of this, cash donations through established and well-coordinated emergency response appeal mechanisms, such as the Disaster Emergency Committee, are the most effective way to support populations in crisis. We encourage UK companies wishing to make in-kind donations to explore opportunities through existing partnerships with the United Nations, the Red Cross or Non-Governmental Organisations; or to reach out to established registered charities on The Charity Commission and Fundraising regulator website at GOV.UK.

Cyprus: Travel Information

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intendto review official travel advice for UK nationals visiting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus. We regularly review official travel advice for UK nationals travelling abroad, including to the Republic of Cyprus.

Middle East

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ease the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK continues to seek the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. We are employing the full range of our diplomatic and security efforts, working with allies and international partners to counter groups seeking to undermine the region's peace, stability, and prosperity. It is in all our interests to work together to avoid regional escalation.

Gaza: Israel

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage a full ceasefire in Gaza.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: No-one wants to see this conflict go on a moment longer than necessary, and an immediate pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out. To achieve that, a number of things would need to happen: Hamas agreeing to the release of all hostages, and no longer being in charge of Gaza; the threat from Hamas terror and rocket attacks ending; and an agreement for the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza in order to provide governance and services and, increasingly, security.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the launch of the new Congolese rebel group known as Alliance Fleuve Congo and the consequences for relations between the East African Community and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Lord Benyon: The UK is concerned about the establishment of Alliance Fleuve Congo, which combines various armed rebel groups active in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The proliferation of armed groups threatens the lives of civilians in an area of the DRC that has suffered years of conflict. Along with our partners, the UK urges all parties to pursue dialogue including through the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes. Our embassies in the region are delivering this clear message.

Ministry of Justice

Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what legislative changes they intend to make, if any, to reverse the effects of the Supreme Court's ruling on litigation funding in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others in July 2023.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is committed to mitigating the impacts of the UK Supreme Court judgment of PACCAR and returning to a pre-PACCAR regime for third party litigation funding at the first legislative opportunity. We are actively looking to find appropriate legislative vehicles.

Cycling: Injuries

Lord Hogan-Howe: To ask His Majesty's Government what information and data the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority holds about injuries caused by pedal cyclists to pedestrians who have subsequently made a claim to the Authority.

Lord Bellamy: The GB-wide Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) provides state-funded compensation to victims of violent crime who cannot pursue compensation or redress from other routes. The Scheme is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).Payments are available under the Scheme for physical or psychological injuries resulting directly from a crime of violence, as defined in Annex B of the Scheme. Paragraph 4(1)(b) of Annex B specifies that a crime of violence will not be considered to have been committed if an injury “resulted from the use of a vehicle, unless the vehicle was used with intent to cause injury to a person”. Paragraph 4(2) outlines that a “vehicle” for the purposes of this paragraph means any device which can be used to transport persons, animals or goods, whether by land, water or air. Therefore, any application which relates to an injury caused by a cyclist will only be eligible if the vehicle was used with intent to cause injury to the applicant.It is possible that CICA holds information which falls within the scope of this request, however it can only be extracted from the CICA’s database through manual search of case records at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Baby Care Units

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyapplications were received for a Mother and Baby Unit place in prison in the past five years; and of those, how many were (1) accepted, or (2) refused, broken down by reason for refusal.

Lord Bellamy: Total figures for applications received, approved and refused are provided in the table below.As decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and the reasons can be complex, reasons for refusal are not currently collated, and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. 2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-23  Number of applications received for admission to Mother and Baby Units19795628580  Number of applications approved by a board4646264440Number of applications refused by a board1515171615 Note;1 For a variety of reasons, some applications do not proceed to an admissions board. For example, the application may be withdrawn; or the applicant’s circumstances may change so that a place is no longer required

Reoffenders

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of people released from prison went on to reoffend, what number of reoffences were committed on average, what was the total number of reoffences, and what was the total number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length for (1) men, and (2) women, for the most recent year that figures are available.

Lord Bellamy: This Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending to keep our communities safe. Between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.6% to 24.4%.Helping prison leavers to secure accommodation, employment, and substance misuse treatment on release is essential for rehabilitation and can significantly reduce their likelihood of reoffending. We are therefore investing in a range of interventions including delivering our temporary accommodation service so that prison-leavers have a stable base on release, offering more offenders the chance to work in prison and expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living wings so that we can support prisoners off drugs and into recovery.Further, we are seeking to introduce a presumption against short sentences which we know have significantly higher reoffending rates than suspended and community sentences.The answer can be found in the tables below.Table 1: Reoffending rate, number of reoffences and average number of reoffences per reoffender for offenders released from custody, male and female (adult), April 2020 – March 2021.  April 2020 - March 2021Female offenders  Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)44.1%Average number of reoffences per reoffender5.89Number of reoffences8,686  Male offenders  Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)37.5%Average number of reoffences per reoffender4.46Number of reoffences72,549  All adult offenders  Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)38.0%Average number of reoffences per reoffender4.58Number of reoffences81,235 Table 2: Number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length, male (adult), April 2020 – March 2021 April 2020 - March 2021Less than or equal to 6 months Number of reoffenders8,902  More than 6 months to less than 12 monthsNumber of reoffenders2,170  12 months to less than 2 years Number of reoffenders2,176  2 years to less than 4 years Number of reoffenders1,995  4 years to 10 years Number of reoffenders958  More than 10 years Number of reoffenders38  Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) Number of reoffenders13  Mandatory Life (MLP) Number of reoffenders8  Other Life [Note 1] Number of reoffenders6  All male adult reoffenders Number of reoffenders16,266  Table 3: Number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length, female (adult), April 2020 – March 2021 April 2020 – March 2021Less than or equal to 6 months Number of reoffenders1,056  More than 6 months to less than 12 monthsNumber of reoffenders212  12 months to less than 2 years Number of reoffenders113  2 years to less than 4 years Number of reoffenders79  4 years to 10 years Number of reoffenders14  More than 10 years Number of reoffenders0  Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) Number of reoffenders0  Mandatory Life (MLP) Number of reoffenders0  Other Life [Note 1] Number of reoffenders0  All female adult reoffenders Number of reoffenders1,474[Note 1] 'Other life' category includes discretionary and automatic life sentences.

Prison Sentences

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an extended determinate sentence are (1) in the first two-thirds of their custodial term andnot yet eligible for parole, (2) in the final third of their custodial term having been refused release by the Parole Board, (3) in prison having been recalled in the final third of their custodial term, (4) in prison having been recalled during their extended licence period, (5) on licence in the final third of their custodial term, and (6) on licence in their extended licence period.

Lord Bellamy: The answer to parts (1) and (2) are as follows:Table 1: Number of prisoners serving an extended determinate sentence who are in the first two-thirds of their custodial term, as at end of September 2023, in England and WalesNumber of offenders  in the first two-thirds  of their custodial term6,035Table 2: Number of prisoners serving an extended determinate sentence who are in the final third of their custodial term, as at end of September 2023, in England and WalesNumber of offenders  in the final third of  their custodial term1,740Data sources and qualityThe figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.NotesThere were also an additional 3 extended determinate sentence prisoners (as at 30 Sep 2023) without a recorded sentence length, and so they could not be included in the above tables.Table 2 does not include any information on whether the individuals were rejected for release by the Parole Board, as this could only be included at disproportionate cost due to the need to link data held across different data systems.Source: Prison NOMIS PQ_HL-1621 (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis (Directorate))Parts (3), (4), (5) and (6) could only be obtained at disproportionate cost due to the need to link data held across different data systems.

Prisoners' Release

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government, in each year since 2015, how many people serving an extended determinate sentence were released (1) after their first Parole Board hearing, (2) after a subsequent Parole Board hearing, and (3) after serving their full custodial term.

Lord Bellamy: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost due to the need to link data held across different data systems.

Prisoners' Release: Reoffenders

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many,and what proportion of, people reoffended within one year of release from prison by accommodation status at (1) release, and (2) three months post-release, in each of the last three years.

Lord Bellamy: I enclose details of the number and proportion of people who reoffended within one year of release from prison, broken down by their accommodation status at release, for 2020/21 and 2021/22 – the two years for which this information is available. The equivalent information broken down by accommodation status three months post-release could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.A settled place to live is key to reducing reoffending, cutting crime and protecting the public. Our Prisons Strategy White Paper set out our plans to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation.HL1422_table (xlsx, 25.2KB)

Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs

Lord Gold: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take, if any, to mitigate the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) [2023] UKSC 28 on the legal finance sector in the UK.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is committed to mitigating the impacts of the UK Supreme Court judgment of PACCAR and returning to a pre-PACCAR regime for third party litigation funding at the first legislative opportunity. We are actively looking to find appropriate legislative vehicles.

Prisoners: Death

Lord Woodley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence (1) took their own life, or (2) died from other causes, in 2023.

Lord Bellamy: Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisonersWe have implemented a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) case management approach across the prison estate which is used to support people at risk of suicide or self-harm in prison. Revisions in ACCT v6 include: a stronger emphasis on taking a person-centred approach; better multi-disciplinary team working; a consistent quality assurance process and an improved focus on identifying and addressing an individual’s risks, triggers and protective factors. To support the implementation of ACCT v6 we are developing and introducing a new safety training package for staff (called Safety Support Skills training). It brings together related safety topics, including suicide and self-harm prevention, understanding risks, triggers and protective factors, and encourages a joined-up approach to prison safety. We have also worked with Samaritans to develop a postvention response to providing support in the period following a self-inflicted death in order to reduce the risk of further deaths. This has been implemented across the adult male estate, and the roll out of an adapted version of the approach in the women’s estate will shortly be completed. Our grant to Samaritans includes funding for this service to be maintained until March 2025. In 2023, 17 prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence died in custody, 9 of these were classified as self-inflicted deaths.(1) Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility. (2) An indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was introduced in 2005. It was intended for high risk prisoners considered ‘dangerous’ but whose offence did not merit a life sentence. The number of prisoners held on this sentence increased initially and the increase was offset by reductions elsewhere(3) Figures include incidents at HMPPS run Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts. Figures do not include incidents at Medway STC(4) The self-inflicted deaths category includes a wider range of deaths than suicides. When comparing figures with other sources it is important to determine whether the narrower suicide or broader self-inflicted deaths approach is in use.Data Sources and QualityThese figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database. As classification of deaths may change following inquest or as new information emerges, numbers may change from time to time.Please note that all deaths in prison custody are subject to a coroner’s inquest. It is the responsibility of the coroner to determine the cause of death. The HMPPS system for classifying deaths provides a provisional classification for administrative and statistical purposes. The final classification is only determined at inquest. Figures dependent on classification of deaths should therefore be treated as provisional.It remains a priority for this Government that all those serving the IPP sentence receive the support they need to progress towards safe release from custody or, where they are being supervised on licence in the community, towards having their licence terminated altogether. In that respect, the Lord Chancellor, announced on 28 November 2023, this Government is taking changes forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill to reform legislation relating to the termination of the licence for IPP offenders by making amendments to section 31A of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997.The new measure, subject to the views of Parliament, will:a. reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;b. include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period; c. introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence, so long as the offender is not recalled in that period; andd. introduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument;The Government was particularly persuaded by the Justice Select Committee’s (JSC) recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to five years – a recommendation in their IPP inquiry report published on 28 September 2022. We are going further: reducing the period to three years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences by reducing the qualifying period to three years and providing a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence.The safety workstream will actively support Prisons to deliver improvements to safety of those serving an IPP sentence. We plan to;• Continue to raise staff awareness of the heightened risk of self-harm, suicide and violence of IPP prisoners. • Monitor, analyse and share any changing or emerging trends in published IPP prisoner data to inform and update guidance where appropriate• Share internal and external learning, initiatives and communications to inform and enable prisons to support IPP prisoners at risk of self-harm, suicide and violence. • Develop and pilot a IPP safety toolkit, based on positive practice, to support prisons to improve their approach to IPP prisoners and encourage local innovation.

Digital Assets

Lord Holmes of Richmond: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to introduce the Law Commission's draft Bill on Digital Assets this parliamentary session.

Lord Bellamy: The Law Commission’s final report on Digital Assets did not include a draft Bill. However, the report recommended statutory confirmation of the existing common law position that certain digital assets and other intangible assets are capable of attracting personal property rights. The Government is carefully considering the Law Commission’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

Department for Transport

Tesla

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the safety implications of Tesla offering its X model in the UK with only left hand drive.

Lord Davies of Gower: All vehicles, including the Tesla model X, must be type approved to ensure they are safe before they can be sold in the UK. These standards do not specify which side of the vehicle the steering wheel should be fitted leaving the choice to the manufacturer.

Local Transport Plans

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their guidance for local authorities on Local Transport Plans and what is the reason for the delay in publishing this guidance.

Lord Davies of Gower: As a result of changes including the unprecedented uplift in local transport funding announced as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North agenda, the Department is reconsidering the case for guidance to local authorities on Local Transport Plans. The Department aims to publish, in the spring of this year, advice to local authorities on the new local transport funds announced as part of Network North. In the meantime, local authorities should continue to update their Local Transport Plans as they see fit, giving regard to published national transport policy and local priorities.

Railways: Surveys

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend toresume publication of the National Rail Passenger Satisfaction Survey which was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department for Transport are working closely with Transport Focus and other bodies within the industry to develop cost effective proposals for improving understanding of customer satisfaction across the rail network. This seeks to build on existing sources of information including independent research, complaints data, “mystery shopper” research and other surveys.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Service Quality Regime for the Avanti West Coast train operator provides good value for money.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department uses performance fees to incentivise operators to deliver the right outcomes for passengers. Standards provided at stations and on trains are evaluated through an independent regime, the Service Quality Regime (SQR), so fees are awarded fairly and accurately ensuring value for money for taxpayers. To date no fees have been paid to Avanti under SQR. The first period assessed under SQR are scores for April to October 2023 and evaluation is currently underway.

Cars: Theft

Earl Russell: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto ensure that all cars sold in the UK meet appropriate anti-theft standards and are adequately protected from relay attacks.

Lord Davies of Gower: All passenger cars placed on the UK market need to be Type Approved. This process ensures compliance with requirements for anti-theft and car alarm systems. The Government is protecting vehicles from relay attacks through provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill. The Bill will create new offences to enable prosecution of those who possess, make, adapt, supply, or offer to supply electronic devices; where there are reasonable grounds to suspect those devices will be used for the purposes of vehicle theft.

Railways: Strikes

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to reports of upcoming rail strikes, what steps they are taking to implement contingency plans to minimise disruption for passengers.

Lord Davies of Gower: The rail strikes are being held by ASLEF, the only rail trade union in a national dispute with train operators following the rejection of a fair pay offer of 8 per cent over two years in exchange for much needed workforce reforms. This would have raised the average train driver’s salary to around £65,000 pa. We continue to urge ASLEF to put industry’s fair offer to its members in the train operating companies so, like the members of other rail trade unions, they too can have a say and bring disruption to an end. In the meantime, we are continuing to work closely with train operators to ensure the disruption is minimised as much as possible. The Government has put in place legislation to enable train operators to deliver minimum levels of service during strikes. It is a decision for individual employers whether to use this new tool to mitigate the impact of strikes, but we expect operators to be ready and able to do so, and to make that decision in the best interests of passengers.

Stansted Airport: Railways

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) train operating companies, and (2) other stakeholders, on improving rail services to Stansted airport.

Lord Davies of Gower: Officials meet regularly with the owners of Stansted Airport, Manchester Airport Group, and attend the annual Stansted Airport Surface Access Forum, along with other stakeholders.Officials also engage regularly with Greater Anglia and CrossCountry about Stansted Airport services.As a result, off-peak and weekend Stansted Express services doubled from December 2023 to give a 15-minute frequency to London.The aspiration for full hourly CrossCountry services from Birmingham to Stansted Airport should be met when resources allow.

Department for Education

Students: Gambling

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to improve coordination between schools, colleges, universities and support services to better assist students struggling with gambling addiction.

Baroness Barran: The government is committed to tackling gambling-related harms. While education settings are not mental health or gambling-related harm specialists, they are well placed to identify where a child or young person is struggling and help them to access support, linking them to NHS support and specialist services as needed.Where gambling problems are affecting the mental health of young people, our programme of Mental Health Support Teams and senior mental health lead training supports schools and colleges to identify individuals in need of further support and make effective referrals to external agencies, to help young people get appropriate, timely support.The department works closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund effective mental health support for university students. £15 million of funding this year from the Office for Students (OfS) will go to mental health support and the OfS-funded Student Space continues to provide students with free online mental health resources and confidential support on a range of topics, including addiction support. The OfS has also brought together HE providers and NHS trusts across each region in England to deliver better join up between university wellbeing support and NHS services.Additionally, schools, colleges and universities have access to the NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling'. This covers common indicators which could help identify whether individuals may be experiencing gambling-related harm, as well as providing initial signposting to the sources of support available to those in need. A link to the webpage can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/gambling-addiction/.As part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to expand geographical coverage of treatment for those experiencing gambling-related harm, the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London offers specialist treatment and support for children and young people.The government White Paper ‘High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, published in April 2023, announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. This presents an opportunity to consider how best to improve awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms amongst young people, and how to ensure availability of effective support across all educational settings.

Foster Care: Ethnic Groups

Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theyintend tomeet representatives of Barnardo’s to discuss developing aBlack Foster Care Network to improve the experiences of Black children in care.

Baroness Barran: I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8232.

Armed Conflict: Education

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure school children are made aware of current global conflicts.

Baroness Barran: The national curriculum does not mandate teaching about current global conflicts. It is important that pupils understand national and global events and schools are free to teach age-appropriate content on these topics within the context of their citizenship curriculum. The national curriculum for citizenship includes content on the need for mutual respect and tolerance for people of all backgrounds, human rights, the UK legal system, and international law. The citizenship curriculum also develops pupils’ skills to research and interrogate evidence, debate and evaluate viewpoints and present reasoned arguments. The national curriculum for citizenship is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.As with other areas of the curriculum, the government does not prescribe how citizenship should be taught. Schools are expected to develop a curriculum that meets the need of their pupils, drawing on the expertise and support of subject associations and other organisations that produce and quality assure resources. To support schools to deliver a high-quality curriculum, Oak National Academy, which became an independent Arm’s Length Body in September 2022, provides adaptable, optional and free curriculum resources. On 2 October 2023, Oak launched its second cycle of procurement for curriculum sequences and teaching resources, including for secondary citizenship. Cycle 2 is scheduled for completion by Autumn 2025.The government has also published resources on the Educate against Hate website to help schools to speak about the news, ongoing conflicts and hold discussions on difficult topics with pupils. The resources are available at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/blog/posts/how-to-speak-about-the-news-ongoing-conflicts-and-hold-discussions-on-difficult-topics-with-students/.

Cabinet Office

Office for National Statistics: Databases

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a complete list of (1) data sets, and (2) projects which are currently active within the Office for National Statistics Integrated Data Service.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority. The Lord Clement-JonesHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW 24 January 2024  Dear Lord Clement-Jones As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking if we will provide a complete list of (1) data sets, and (2) projects which are currently active within the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Integrated Data Service (IDS) (HL1623). The IDS currently has 92 datasets ingested into the service. These datasets are available to accredited analysts and researchers from both the government’s analytical function and the wider research communities. In terms of analysis taking place within the service, there are currently 15 live analytical projects within the IDS. While this is the number of live projects, there are other analysis proposals at a conceptual or approvals stage that will support policy development. Future information on analyses and data will be made available in due course to ensure continued transparency of data and analysis within the IDS, in line with other Trusted Research Environments, such as the ONS’s Secure Research Service. To ensure full transparency, a complete list of data sets and projects are listed in Annex A and Annex B respectively.  Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond Annex A:A complete list of datasets which are currently within the Integrated Data Service.Data Set NameValuation Office Agency (VOA)Pluto Business to Business MatrixEnergy Performance CertificateAnnual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)Standard Industrial Classification/Standard Occupational Classification (SIC/SOC) ReferencesAnnual Population SurveyBusiness Register Employment SurveyONS BirthsONS DeathsGP Registration aggregate countAggregate Age/Sex counts for mid-year pop statsAggregate Age/Sex count for mid-year internal migrationAggregate Age/Sex counts for UK regular Forces and GurkhasAggregate Age/Sex counts for by prison, age and sexPersonal Demographics Services – Flag 4 National monthly July 2022Statistical Population Dataset v4.1Long Term International Passenger Survey (IPS)Dynamic Population Model (DPM) International Emigration monthlyInternational Immigration monthlyIntegrated Data Asset – Energy Performance CertificatesIntegrated Data Asset – Ordnance Survey Private Outside SpaceIntegrated Data Asset – Land Registry Price PaidGeographical Look upsAnnual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Attribute DataPopulation Statistics; SyntheticRegions (December 2019) England Boundaries Generalised Clipped (BGC)Census 2021 – MVPLabour Force Survey UK – PeopleLabour Force Survey UK – HouseholdLabour Force Survey UK – LongitudinalBusiness Enterprise R&D (BERD)Business Structure Database (BSD)Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)-Census 2011Update to BirthsUpdate to DeathsRedelivery of Census 2021 (extra variables)Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES)General Practitioner Episodes Statistics (GPES)Census 2021 linked to Labour Force Survey (LFS)ONS MortalityIndices of DepravationMid-Year Population EstimatesSmall Area Population EstimatesBusiness Register Employment Survey (BRES Un indexed)Census 2011 Origin Destination EWONS Geography Boundary ProductsONS Geography ProductsAggregated Workplace Zone GeographyCensus 2011 Output TablesCensus 2011 Output Tables LongEngland Wales Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) LookupNational Travel Survey DataCensus 2021 Output TablesCensus 2021 Output Tables LongOpenStreet Map DataDfT Origin Destination PairsBus Timetable DataJourney Times to Key ServicesTrip End Model ProgramInternational Passenger Survey (IPS)(Nomis – Claimant accountsNomis – Jobseeker allowancesNomis – Population estimatesNomis – Annual Business InquiryNomis – Business Register Employment Survey (BRES)UK Small Area gross value added (GVA) estimatesPolice Crime DataSynthesizing Census DataBusiness Enterprise Research and Development - Great BritainMonthly Business Survey - UKInternational Trade in Services - UKAnnual Foreign Direct Investment Survey - UKAnnual Purchases Survey - UKQuarterly Capital Expenditure Survey - UKE-commerce Survey - UKUK Manufacturers’ Sales by Product SurveyCOVID-19 Vaccine Opinions Survey - EnglandLow Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey - UKCensus 1991 Individual - Great BritainCensus 2001 Individual - UKEffects of Tax and Benefits - UKForeign Direct Investment - UKMergers & Acquisitions Survey - UKPublic Health Research DatabaseGeneral Lifestyle Survey – Great BritainMonthly Business Survey for Construction and Allied Trades GBLabour Force Survey Longitudinal, Household & Personal - UKBusiness Register Employment Survey (BRES – Indexed against Business Index only)Annual Acquisition and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey - UKCensus 1991 Household - Great BritainAnnual Survey of Goods and Services - UKCensus 2001 Household - UK Annex B A complete list of projects which are currently active within the Integrated Data Service. Project TitleAnnual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) - ONS/HMT levelling upTesting Bayesian methods for Demographic AccountingExploring Census 2021 Data to identify specific industry sectors or economic activity groups that require further analysisDescribing the interaction of climate and health in global official statistics.Evaluating placed based programmes (DLUHC / ONS project)Count of usual resident stratified by sex, age, ethnic group and deprivation for various geographies in EnglandEnergy Efficiency of HousingExploring the health drivers of economic inactivityIntermediate ConsumptionProducing estimates of school aged children, by Local Authority, and pupil characteristicsMobility and Geospatial ProgrammeDepartment for Levelling Up Housing and Communities Subnational Expenditure by Local Authority DistrictSynthesizing the Census for and in the IDSDifferences between Census 2021 and ONS household surveys in relation to the estimates of Welsh language abilityXGOV Levelling-up analysis UK Statistics Authority  (pdf, 136.0KB)

Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure customers are adequately supported given recent changes to HMRC’s phone support for taxpayers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: This is a busy time for customers who want to get their taxes sorted. Directing those with simple queries to online services, where they can be resolved more quickly, will ensure telephone advisers are available to help customers with complex queries or those who cannot get online.We know that some customers are unable to reach to us online, HMRC will continue to help them by telephone, and this includes their extra support services. The service is for customers who cannot contact them due to health or personal issues. Customers can ask for phone, video, or in-person appointments. When they phone the HMRC helplines, their advisers will assess their circumstances to offer the best option for them. Footnote:Information on the Extra Support can be found here:Get help from HMRC if you need extra support: Help you can get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Rented Housing: Taxation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current tax policy forsmall-scale lettings.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Property income is subject to income tax. All landlords can access the property allowance, which provides a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with income from land or property. The Government has nearly doubled the income tax personal allowance since 2010 (30% higher in real terms), ensuring some of the lowest earners do not pay income tax. Thanks to the personal allowance, around 30 percent of individuals do not pay tax. As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government keeps the tax treatment of property income under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of wider public finances.

Taxis: VAT

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government when in early 2024 they intend to consulton the impacts of the July 2023 High Court ruling in Uber Britannia Ltd v Sefton MBC on theVAT treatment of Private Hire Vehicles,as undertaken in paragraph 5.81 of the Autumn Statement 2023.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government remains committed to consulting on the impacts of this ruling, and will publish a consultation in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Biodiversity

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to expedite the delivery of the apex goal set out in the Executive Summary of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 to halt the decline in biodiversity and achieve 'thriving plants and wildlife'.

Lord Benyon: We are committed to meeting our ambitious target to halt and then reverse species decline and are accelerating action towards delivery. In June last year we launched a multi-million-pound Species Survival Fund to provide early progress towards our species abundance targets and support the recovery of declining species. The fund will support projects focussed on the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, including on protected sites. Through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme, launched April 2023, we have also provided £14.5M of funding for 63 projects delivered in partnership with 74 different organisations to take action to halt and reverse the decline of 150 rare species, including the critically endangered European eel and the Greater Mouse-eared bat. In November we announced the 34 projects selected for the £25 million second round of our Landscape Recovery scheme. These projects will collectively restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, sustainably manage more than 20,000 hectares of woodland, including some temperate rainforest, create over 7,000 hectares of new woodland and benefit more than 160 protected sites (SSSIs). This builds on the success of the first 22 Landscape Recovery projects which are already underway, aiming to restore more than 600 km of rivers and targeting the conservation of more than 260 flagship species. This is alongside increased incentives, announced in January, for farmers to deliver environmental outcomes which will support habitats and species through our Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes. We are also rolling out Nature Recovery Projects across the country to create improved and better-connected habitats for wildlife and improve public access to nature. In July 2023 we launched a further six projects covering over 176,000 ha of land across England. These projects build on the G7 legacy project in Cornwall launched in 2021 and the five other nature recovery projects launched in 2022 which together span around 120,200 hectares.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer: Screening

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent they have evaluated in the NHS-Galleri research trial the possibility that patients with small tumours will not be readily detected when circulating tumour DNA is used for diagnosis, leading to poor utility for cancer screening.

Lord Markham: The Department has not made any formal evaluations, as the NHS-Galleri research trial is currently still ongoing. The trial is planned to conclude in 2025 with interim results expected during 2024, and final results anticipated in 2026.

Abortion: Drugs

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 22 January (HL1523), whether the complication rates referenced include the treatment of women as outpatients following telemedicine abortion complications arising from home use of early medical abortion pills.

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 22 January (HL1523), whetherthe complication rates following the introduction of home use of early medical abortion pills would change if the outpatient treatment of complicationswereincluded in the statistics.

Lord Markham: The analysis of abortion complications data published by the Department compares Abortion Notification System (ANS) data on complications known to the abortion provider at the time of the patient’s discharge from the abortion service, and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) inpatient admissions data on abortion complications. It is not recorded on ANS whether the complications reported required inpatient or outpatient treatment.The analysis does not include HES data on the treatment of women as outpatients following a termination. This is because HES data completeness is considerably higher for inpatient data than outpatient and accident and emergency data. Including the incomplete outpatient data in our analysis would have produced inaccurate results for this population.

Operating Theatres: Fires

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for policy in England of the US Food and Drug Administration’s announcement that it would be making the reporting of incidences of surgical burns or fires mandatory; and what discussions they have held with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and relevant stakeholders about this.

Lord Markham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not had any meetings with the US Food and Drug Administration regarding the change to introduce mandatory reporting of incidences of surgical burns or fires to the MHRA, and we do not intend to impose mandatory reporting of these events.Mandatory reporting of adverse effects from clinicians would require legislative change. It is not within the MHRA’s scope to compel this, and we do not have any jurisdiction over healthcare professionals. There is limited evidence that making reporting mandatory increases the ability to detect safety signals. There are professional guidelines in place for healthcare professionals to report safety issues, and the MHRA is working to proactively encourage reporting of adverse effects through improvements such as those within the new SafetyConnect system and outreach work. Manufacturers of medical devices are also required to report any incidents they receive to the MHRA.Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report any suspected adverse incidents with medicines or medical devices to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme.

Medical Records: Children

Lord Lucas: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement on the NHS webpage 'Can I access someone else's medical records (health records)?' that "children aged 12 or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records, unless there is a reason to suggest otherwise".

Lord Markham: The Department and NHS England work closely together, in conjunction with a range of stakeholders across the sector, to make sure the National Health Service's position is right for children.For children aged under 11 years old, parents are presumed to be exercising a child's right to access their records, where the child lacks capacity to exercise it on their own behalf. Children aged 11 years or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records, unless there is a good reason to suggest otherwise.Whilst reasonable efforts should be made to encourage the child to involve parents or guardians, children have the same rights of access and information as adults do. If a child has the capacity to give or withhold consent to the release of their health record information, health professionals should generally respect their wishes. General practice surgeries should have processes in place for determining on a case-by-case basis whether a child is competent to make this decision.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Screening

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask His Majesty's Government when the UK National Screening Committee will publish (1) plans, and (2) timelines, for its in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

Lord Markham: Stakeholders will be kept updated on the progress of the in-service evaluation (ISE) for newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) via the UK National Screening Committee’s blog, which is available in an online only format. The most recent update was published on 24 January 2024, and detailed the progress of the SMA ISE, which is available in an online only format.

Care Homes: Private Sector

Baroness Browning: To ask His Majesty's Government why social service departments are discharging hospital patients to residential care for the first time when they are self-funding, while encouraging those patients (1) to contract with, (2) to be charged by, and (3) to be added to, social services’ admissions to private care, instead of contracting directly with the residential home; what impact this practice has on patients’ contractual rights; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this on the viability of the private care home sector.

Lord Markham: It is our priority to ensure that patients are discharged at the right time and to the right place, and to ensure that people receive appropriate care and support after they have been discharged. We believe it is crucial to ensure that the discharge process remains person-centred and driven by the patient’s fully informed decisions of the available options, including their own home or a residential care setting after they are discharged, with the support of their family or unpaid carers. Whether or not a person qualifies for any financial support towards their care costs depends on their capital assets. Anyone who has assets above the upper capital limit, £23,250, is expected to meet the full cost of their own care. A person with more in capital than the upper capital limit can nonetheless ask their local authority to arrange their care and support for them.Where the person’s needs are to be met by care in a care home, the local authority may choose to arrange the care, but is not required to do so. In supporting self-funders to arrange care, the local authority may choose to enter into a contract with the preferred provider or may broker the contract on behalf of the person.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Euro 2028: Casement Park

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 11 December 2023 (HL763), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, when theyfirst discussed the inclusion of Casement Park in the UEFA Euro 2028 bid.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Work started on the UK and Ireland EURO 2028 bid in January 2022, building on a feasibility study into a bid for the FIFA World Cup. Discussions about potential venues – including in Northern Ireland – were part of this process from the outset.Casement Park was confirmed as a proposed stadium in the final joint bid in April 2023, as it is the stadium site in Northern Ireland which could most closely meet UEFA’s technical requirements, including size, capacity, and facilities.As with all stadia, those included are subject to UEFA’s final venue selection and match-scheduling process.